root canal treatment - NHS and private costs & pros and cons

Toothsmith

JennyW wrote:

Sometimes I guess they just cant be saved

That's very true, and re-doing a root treatment is always less likely to be successful as the first time you do it. This is why it's important to get it done well first time.

To be honest though, to get 7 years out of a 'bad' root filling isn't bad going.

To take things a step further, it has been found that one of the most important things for a long lasting success is a good seal up at the crown end of the tooth.

Your root filling could have failed because the filling on top of the tooth started to leak, letting in bugs.

This is why a good, well fitting crown is the next step after a root filling in order to preserve the tooth as long as possible.

Toothsmith

msmicawber wrote:

Oh, and he's an NHS dentist, so it sounds as though I've landed myself a goodun from what you say.

It certainly does - not a rubber fetishist!

He'll soon realise that the way he's working is 'incompatible' with the NHS though! Hopefully he will maintain his standards and go private rather than trimming his service to suit the funding though!

msmicawber

Nooooo, don't rain on my parade, Toothsmith!

He did recommend that I'd be better to have a white acrylic filling for the tooth, which I'd have to pay for privately, rather than the mercury (or whatever it's called) one that the NHS would pay for. He said he was worried that the tooth may split or chip and the acrylic filling would make that less likely as it isn't so hard. So maybe he'll try to work within the NHS while advising us when private treatment is applicable.

mr_rush

toothsmith, thank you for the info.
is removal of the pulp and roots without a replacement crown fitting still called a root canal?

Toothsmith

mr_rush wrote:

toothsmith, thank you for the info.
is removal of the pulp and roots without a replacement crown fitting still called a root canal?

Yes it is.

The crown is an additional treatment done afterwards.

BTW - the roots aren't removed, just the pulp from within them.

mr_rush

do all root canals need a crown afterwards?
I've had the pulp (and pulp from within a root) removed from my upper molar (6) on the right side years ago. No crown was ever fitted.

the dentist i saw said the procedure on the problem tooth would be the same

kepal

i had 2 done on the nhs

Toothsmith

mr_rush wrote:

do all root canals need a crown afterwards?
I've had the pulp (and pulp from within a root) removed from my upper molar (6) on the right side years ago. No crown was ever fitted.

the dentist i saw said the procedure on the problem tooth would be the same

Not always, but opinion is divided.

Depends on how badly damaged the tooth is in the first place. Normally, by the time a tooth needs a root-filling, it is pretty badly broken down anyway.

Dead teeth also go quite brittle, so even if they are not too badly broken down, they are likely to fracture.

Some opinion does state that ALL root filled teeth should be crowned.

Most dentists play it by ear though.

mr_rush

woke up today - no tooth pain. no pain all day infact. last time i took any pain killers was around lunchtime yesterday.

jazzy

I had a bit of toothache the other day and visited my dentist. It was not my usual dentist because it was an emergency. I had to have two fillings one was a temporary one and I was told to come back in 15 days for a permanent filling and possibly root canal work if the pain had not settled.

When I had these fillings I found them to be very painful not like my usual dentist. There was also another patient who was screaming with the emergency dentist’s treatment! I am usually ok with the dentist but I am dreading if I need root canal work.

I tried to make an appointment with my regular dentist to see if she could carry out the work (never had pain with her before) But she refused because her colleague started the work.

I had the temporary filling a week ago and since then the pain has gone. So is likely that I will still have to have root canal work carried out when I have the permanent filling?